Background: Predicting weight loss after laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding (LAGB) from preoperative factors has been challenging. This study aimed to determine the relationship between weight loss from a preoperative low-calorie meal replacement diet (LCMRD) and weight loss after LAGB in a cohort of morbidly obese adolescents.
Methods: Fifty-one subjects (86 % female, 61 % Caucasian, mean age 16 years, mean weight 140.1 kg) received 2 weeks of LCMRD prior to LAGB. We utilized Pearson's correlation coefficients to test the relationship between weight loss on a LCMRD and weight loss at 3, 6, and 12 months after LAGB.
Results: Mean weight loss was 5.7 kg (standard deviation (SD) 2.5) during the LCMRD period and 17.4 kg (SD 12.4) at 1 year postoperatively. Having a higher baseline weight (p < 0.01) and losing less weight prior to LCMRD (p < 0.05) was associated with more weight loss during LCMRD. Weight loss during LCMRD was not significantly associated with postoperative weight loss at any time point.
Conclusions: Weight loss during LCMRD was not significantly associated with postoperative weight loss in our study. Less variability in adherence, less influence of genetic and biological potential, and more diuresis during a short course of LCMRD compared to in the postoperative period may explain this lack of association.